Saturday, August 18, 2007

Wow, three weeks down! And I haven't had a chance to retell all the stories and post some pictures of places I've been to. I just came home from the Great Wall today. I would say this trip was my all-time favorite...I felt dead after hiking to the top...more pictures of that on another day. In any case, I hope to finish these entries before I leave Beida in one week because I won't have that much internet access in the next month. But to make up for that, my friends and I will try to email updates whenever possible. Ok, so this edition is on zhongguo cai (chinese food). I have a few examples of food (mainly the ones I remembered to take pictures of), prices, and a few silly thoughts.This is huoguo (hotpot). Enough for three, $9.49. We requested two types of soup, spicy and normal. We just put the meat and veggies into the pot and wait until it's cooked and then devour it! It tastes a little different than Vietnamese hotpot, but I like it a lot due to all the veggies. It's somewhat hard to find many non-oily vegetable dishes in Beijing. Also, there is a peanut like sauce for the hotpot, but I did not use it that much.La mian (pulled noodles) are my favorite in Beijing. I like the different soups: I usually order beef noodles and each time, the chef pulls the dough and drops it into the soup to cook. It's fun to watch and tasty to eat...I usually pay 60 to 80 cents for a decent bowl.This was so fun to eat because: 1. I love BIG bowls and this is the biggest bowl I've ever eaten out of, three times a normal noodle bowl. 2. I love big spoons...and I got to eat with a huge soup spoon. 3. only $1.60. =) My teachers told me noodles are a big thing in Beijing and northern parts of China. I heard southern parts of china have more rice dishes. Maybe climate plays a part, since Beijing can get very cold during the winter, and a bowl of warm noodles will be a good meal.

I know this looks scary but it's safe and is sold on Beida campus. Many regular chinese students need a quick grab and go meal. This is large rice noodles with some veggies, tofu, and lots of different sauce (maybe more than 5 types). It tastes fine and costs 40 cents.

Biggest bone I've ever nibbled on. Guess what it is? BBQ Lamb! =) I usually don't like the smell of lamb, but this one was not bad. I don't know how much it costs because my language partner treated me - it's part of the culture to treat guests.

I'm not a big fan of burgers, but I couldn't say no to a free offer to go to Outback Steakhouse for a friend's birthday. The bbq bacon burger tasted great, and it was fun to see the chinese waiters celebrate my friend's birthday--they sang the bday song in English and gave us a free ice cream dessert with candle. =) A lot of the American folks in our chinese class crave American food everyday. The food at Outback matched the price of US Outback...this burger costs $7.75.

Expensive, interesting drink at a japanese restaraunt. It has a sparkling marble inside. My friend told me it is a popular drink in Japan. Servings are few and I paid more than usual, $6.41. The food tasted okay.

Dinner at the beginning of the chinese program. I liked the pumpkin sesame buns the most! I don't know how much the program paid for it.Even if you don't like kfc in the states (not the case for me), you'll probably find yourself in one of these because they are everywhere like starbucks in the us (not that bad...but close) =P Most of the fried chicken are spicy ... i like spicy and the meat is pretty tender. they have more selections on drinks and different things... u'll have to see a menu for yourself. i like the kfc here more than the one in the states. it's funny but i like the fried chicken at mcdonalds as well -- spicy and good (both are everywhere in beijing).KFC popcorn chicken, $1.43Beijing's all-time traditional, favorite ice cream (lao bing gunr), always 13 cents.Noodles with chicken, pepper, cucumbers, and vinegar...

My friend and I tried this really nice vegetarian restaraunt because she's trying to be a vegetarian in China--not working out too well. This place is one of the most well-decorated and designed places I've been to! I ordered this dish...It looks interesting, but I think it's spinach and peas, all the food honestly tasted like baby food. =\ This was $2. hehe, I have a confession to make...I'm really missing my grandpa's vietnamese dishes...

1 comments:

Your blog is really awesome. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I love Chinese culture, tradition, food etc and i have taken Chinese for dummies lanugage course and Chinese cooking course. I like Chinese cuisine food very much and i have tried many Chinese recipes which i got from youtube and many other website.